One of the biggest questions right now, whether it be personal or business, is how to innovate and move past what has come before. In fact, whole companies have grown up around the idea of innovation and fostering it within staid organizations. But really it comes down to a single question.

What If?

Throughout the ages, innovation has been fostered by imagining what is possible instead of what you can do with your current resources. The key way to innovate is to question the status quo and "ask the right questions" - not what can we do now, but what is possible.

Companies large and small have been founded on this very idea.

What if someone sold socks that didn't match? In his new book Disrupt, Luke Williams, a veteran of frog design, talks about how that offbeat question was the impetus for the launch of Little Miss Matched, a company whose purposely mismatched socks proved surprisingly popular with young girls. It's one of a number of examples Williams cites of new business innovations that began with what he calls "a disruptive hypothesis." Another better-known one is Netflix, whose business model provided an answer to the question, What if a video rental company didn't charge late fees?

In school we are often taught to provide the right answers, and not asking greater questions about issues at hand or coming up with better ways to do things. In that regard, we need to "unlearn" those practices and start asking the right questions.